The present invention relates to a system for preventing undesirable static electricity which manifests itself as "static cling" among textile materials comingled in a liquid bath. The textile materials are typically clothes in a clothes washer. More particularly, this invention relates to a static preventing member for use in a conventional washing machine for laundering clothes to prevent accumulation of static electricity in the washed clothes both after washing and after drying, thus eliminating undesirable static cling among the washed clothes.
For as long as modern mechanical methods of washing and drying clothes have been used, and particularly in recent years when so many synthetic textile materials have been used in clothes, bedding and other washable household goods, undesirable "static cling" has been present in batches of laundered clothes, particularly after tumble drying those clothes. Typically, the attempted solutions to this longstanding problem have been attempts to deal with the problem in the dryer. There have been many attempts to decrease static cling by the insertion of some fabric softener or antistatic member into the dryer while textile materials are being tumble dried therein. See, for example Proctor and Gamble's BOUNCE made under U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,944,694 and 4,085,052; a corresponding product marketed by Giant Foods, Inc., Washington, D.C. under U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,442,692, 3,956,556, and 4,007,300; Economic Laboratories' FREE N' SOFT made under U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,967,008 and 4,004,685; Purex Corp.'s TOSS 'N SOFT; AND A. E. Staley's STA-PUF.
Another group of products are liquid fabric softeners which are also said to help eliminate static cling, which liquids are for use in washing machines. See, for example, Proctor and Gamble's DOWNY; A. G. Staley's STA-PUF; and S. C. Johnson & Sons; RAIN BARREL; and Giant Food's Fabric Softener. However, these types of products are known to have a tendency to make clothes somewhat yellow and to decrease the water absorbency of textiles. These are of course undesirable characteristics, particularly where absorbency is desired as in towels, diapers, etc. Additionally, Alberto Culver markets STATIC GUARD spray containing dimethyl ditallow ammonium chloride, but it is expressly not to be used in washers or dryers.
Quaternary ammonium compounds are disclosed as the active agents in some of the aforementioned patents, but compositions containing quaternary ammonium compounds are known to have other utilities in the textile industry. For example, Rupin, Michel, "Dyeing with Direct and Fiber Reactive Dyes," Textile Chemists and Colorist, Vol. 8, No. 9, September, 1976, pages 139/54-143/58, discloses the amination of cellulose as a method to facilitate dyeing of cellulose by direct and fiber reactive dyes. Rupin reports that quaternary ammonium compounds such as glycidyltrimethylammonium chloride (sold under the trademark Glytac by Societe Protex, Levellois, France) can be applied to fabric either prior to dyeing or simultaneously with reaction, for example by adding Glytac to the dye bath, resulting in improved dyeing efficiency and improved direct dye fastness for cellulose fabrics; similar applications to polyester/cotton blends are also suggested. The quaternary ammonium compounds, per se, are known as indicated in Rupin, supra, and the references cited therein, such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,131,120, British Pat. No. 971,358; French Pat. No. 1,4990,066; French Pat. No. 1,589,218; French Pat. No. 2,041,703; French Pat. No. 2,061,533; and French Pat. No. 2,096,702.